title: Gastrointestinal stromal tumors: risk assessment and adjuvant therapy.
abstract: Adjuvant imatinib prolongs recurrence-free survival and probably overall survival of patients who have undergone surgery for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). Estimation of the risk of recurrence with a prognostication tool and tumor mutation analysis is essential before imatinib initiation, because approximately 60% of patients with GIST with operable tumor are cured by surgery alone and some mutated tyrosine kinases are insensitive to imatinib. Adjuvant imatinib is usually administered for 3 years at the dose of 400 mg once daily. Early detection of tumors that recur despite adjuvant therapy with longitudinal imaging of the abdomen is likely beneficial.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Helsinki University Central Hospital, Helsinki University, Haartmaninkatu 4, Helsinki FIN-00029, Finland. Electronic address: heikki.joensuu@hus.fi.
authors.forename: Heikki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Joensuu
mesh_terms: D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005770:Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D046152:Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D011379:Prognosis; D012008:Recurrence; D018570:Risk Assessment
keywords: Adjuvant therapy; Gastrointestinal stromal tumor; Imatinib; Prognostic factor; Risk stratification